


Years Gone By

by Tapioka_Tapestry



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: (kinda), Everyone married each other, Future Fic, Gen, Happy Ending, Nyanko Sensei actually cares
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 04:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20186173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tapioka_Tapestry/pseuds/Tapioka_Tapestry
Summary: It's been thirty-five years since Natsume died, and everyone else has grown up and moved on. Everyone except for Madara, who has never given up hope of bringing him back.





	Years Gone By

Nishimura Tooru sat on her back porch, admiring the early spring daffodils that were just starting to bloom.

She stood up, stretched with a long yawn, and walked inside her house.

Despite all the years that had passed, Tooru and her family still lived in her grandfather’s mansion.

Looking around, she could almost see her high school self wandering around the maze-like hallways, always hoping to catch sight of something otherworldly. Of course, that had been almost half a century ago, but 35 years had done nothing to quash her curious nature.

Even now, when her children asked her for a bed time story, she would recount tales from her youth about big, scary monsters and the strange boy that was the only one who could see them.

Her oldest, a 14 year old girl named Hana, hadn’t believed in her stories for a few years now, but still enjoyed listening to them. Her youngest, Satomi’s 9 year old brother Kazuki, would often get in arguments with Satomi about weather or not their mom had made up her childhood friend.

Her husband, Nishimura Satoru, would often listen in when she would tell stories about their old friend. Satoru had only asked where she had gotten the stories once, and when she refused to answer, he never said anything about it again. It just seemed wrong to her to reveal secrets that had been kept for so long.

As Tooru walked to the center of the house, she felt the cold from the hardwood floors seep through her socks. It may be warmer in the afternoons now, but this time of year the mornings made it feel like it was still winter.

She checked the large clock hanging on the wall and then checked again.

"We're going to be late!"

She jogged over to her and Satoru's room and peeked in. He was still asleep, a tuft of brown hair poking out from under the blanket.

"Satoru! The Tanumas are going to be waiting for us! Hurry and get up."

A soft groan came from her lump of a husband, and she hurried down the hallway to the kids' rooms.

"Satomi, Kazuki! It's time to go!"

Satomi had always been an early riser, unlike most kids her age, so she was already up and watching something on her phone.

"I'm already ready to go, unlike dad."

Tooru hovered there for a minute, checking that she was indeed, ready. When she confirmed that was the case, she went one door down to Kazuki's room. She knocked, and then peeked her head in to his dark room, throwing a band of light across his superhero-themed sheets.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. It's almost 8:00 and the Tanumas are going to be waiting."

No response.

"You don't want Hana to think you're lazy, right?"

That got him. He hopped out of bed as fast as he could and began flinging himself around the room. Tooru chuckled. As much as he tried to hide it, it was pretty obvious that Kazuki had a big crush on the Tanuma's only daughter, Hana. 

Ten minutes later, the Nishimuras were assembled at the entryway and ready to head out. Satoru leaned over and did his best to plant a kiss on the top of Tooru's head, although their heights made that a bit difficult.

"Will Kitamoto be able to make it this year?" Tooru asked.

Nishimura and Kitamoto had remained lifelong friends, and when Kitamoto got married and moved away, they promised to stay in touch. So far, they had.

"No, that bigshot's out of the country on a business trip."

"That's too bad. I'm sure Tanuma would have liked everyone to be there."

With that, all four of them left the large house and began the short walk to the nearby temple where the Tanumas lived. A few minutes in, Kazuki walked up to his mom and pulled on her coat.

"Why do we have to do this every year, mom?"

"We've talked about this, Kazuki, it's very important to your mom and dad."

Satoru leaned over and ruffled the little boy's mess of unkept red hair.

"Plus, we want you to come and visit us eventually."

Kazuki's eyes widened. 

"Not for a long, long time though. Right, Satoru?" Tooru elbowed him in the side.

"Of course! Not for a long time."

The rest of the walk went by in a solemn silence until they finally reached the large temple.

"Tanuma! Jun! Good morning! Sorry we're late."

"Don't worry about it. I would invite you guys in, but we're heading out now as well." Tanuma Jun called from just inside the gate as she tried to help Hana put her coat on.

A few seconds later, the two families had merged and continued to walk.

"It's a shame Kitamoto can't make it, really."

"I know! I feel a bit bad for him, what with such a busy schedule. It seems like he's going on a different trip every week!"

"Oh it can't be that bad, what with that nice place they have."

Eventually, they walked up to a large gate with a sign reading 'Snowy Hill Cemetery'.

Tooru pushed open the gate and the group entered, still chatting.

It was bit of a hike, but they walked across most of the large field dotted with headstones and up a hill overlooking the cemetery. On the top were three well-preserved graves. The headstones read 'Fujiwara Touko', 'Fujiwara Shigeru' and 'Natsume Takashi'.

The chatting had stopped now, and one by one each family member went to pay respects. Eventually it was Tooru's turn, and she lit some incense at all three graves. 

It had been 35 years since Natsume had died. She and Tanuma knew that it had been a youkai, of course, but everyone else thought he had mysteriously died in the woods with seemingly no cause. No one had seen Nyanko-Sensei since.

The funeral had a surprising turn out, with even the famous actor Natori Shuuichi showing up much to the confusion of the other attendees, as well as a number of mysterious people no one recognized.

The Fujiwaras had been devastated, of course. It took years, but they eventually decided to become a foster family and made peace with their loss through helping other children that needed affection. When they died, they were buried next to him.

Tooru knelt down in front of Natsume's grave, memories of her days in high school with Tanuma and Natsume chasing youkai surfaced, and her eyes stung with the memories. The first few years, it had taken a lot for her to work up the courage to come here. Even now it was almost just as painful, though she didn't want to admit it.

Standing up, Tooru wiped her eyes and rejoined the group, giving her husband a tight hug, which he reciprocated.

Tanuma was at the graves now, and he just looked sadly at the headstone, as if he could see something in it. With a quick clap of his hands and a short prayer, Tanuma also came back and rejoined them.

"Should we get out the picnic, then?"

The rest of that morning was spent enjoying the steadily warming weather, with Hana and Kazuki playing tag and Satomi reading a book on the blanket while the adults chatted about their lives.

The three headstones sat watching over it all, unmoving.

* * *

Madara loped through the trees. A normal fox might not be able to go at such a high speed so late at night, but Madara was nowhere close to normal. His giant paws threatened to crush the smaller youkai beneath him as he ran.

With a giant leap, he soared into the air and began to fly over the tree tops. A small parcel hanging out of his mouth began to dance with the wind.

It was finally complete, and although he had a long journey ahead of him, Madara felt a bit excited despite his stoic visage.

He had been there when the youkai delivered the final blow that had killed Natsume. 

They had been on their way through the forest, looking to collect a lost acorn for a minor youkai, when it had approached them. It was a large, horse-like creature with a long mane and sharp eyes peering out from behind the curtains of hair. It asked for its name back, and that idiot Natsume agreed, setting aside his task for a minute to whisper into the paper.

That was when the youkai had turned on them. After it got its name, tendrils of its long hair shot out and grabbed Natsume, slamming him against a tree. Hard. Another tendril crept out and caught the book of friends, pulling it back into the nest of hair. It had all happened so fast that Madara was barely able to transform into his true self, let alone attack it.

The horse quickly launched into the air, taking the book of friends and leaving behind a critically injured Natsume. 

Madara had never been very sentimental, but seeing Natsume's life fleeting so quickly, he knew that he had to do _something. _

Using the clay earthenware pot they had been using to collect the acorns, Madara managed to detatch Natsume's soul from his body just in time, sealing it inside. 

Unfortunately, when the humans discovered his abandoned body, they mourned for him. And quite honestly, Madara wasn't sure if that wasn't the correct thing to do.

Since Natsume's soul was human and not meant to leave his body, it was always unstable, threatening to disappear at any time. Only Natsume's immense spiritual power managed to keep it alive. It had only been in recent years when Madara had stopped worrying that it would go out before he could help his human friend.

Now, 35 years later, Madara had finally found a way to bring him back. Granted, things might be a bit different, but he would be back.

Although he would never admit it, Madara had grown attatched to the human child, and since the day Natsume had 'died', Madara had felt odd. He would wake up, thinking it was time to go downstairs to breakfast or school, wondering where his nice mat had gone.

Every night he slept, his large body surrounding the tiny pot, protecting it from any further harm.

As he flew through the night sky, Madara thought back to all he had done to reach this moment and realized just how close he was to finally completing his goal. 

Madara landed with a soft touch in Snowy Hill Cemetary, and looked on with a touch of sadness at the graves of the Fujiwaras. He knew just how much they meant to Natsume, and he himself would surely miss their cozy house and fried tempura shrimp. 

He gently set down the cloth parcel he had been clutching in his maw, and with a gentleness that belied his size, he began to undo the paper seals he had set on it years ago. The pot was worn. It had already been old before it came into it's new occupation, but Madara was sure to keep it safe and clean, so it was in relatively good condition despite it's age.

Next, out of the parcel came a bright purple flower and a few oddly-shaped berries. It had been simple, in the end. All of those years searching for an answer and all it ended up taking was some strange plants.

Taking the flower and berries and putting them into the pot (with no small difficulty), he then took a deep breath and emptied it's contents on top of Natsume's grave. If this didn't work, there was no going back. 

Nothing.

Madara felt an uncharacteristic twinge of panic, wondering what he would do with himself if this didn't work. He realized he hadn't given it any thought.

Another agonizing second went by, but then light began to dance in between the blades of grass and spiritual energy began to radiate around the gravestone. It came on gradually, slowly seeping out of the cold earth.

Then there was an explosion of spiritual power. It encompassed Madara and all three of the headstones. For Madara, it was a familiar feeling. Warm, almost. 

Then the light faded, and in the center of it all was an unconscious Natsume. 

He looked exactly the same, a young face, white hair, he was even wearing the same clothes that he had been buried in. But something was different. Madara could smell it.

Natsume slowly opened his eyes, and took in his surroundings.

"Nyanko...-Sensei? Wha- but I thought..."

"Do you know how much trouble you have caused me?"

Still bleary-eyed, Natsume looked around, and realized he was in a cemetery. He looked behind him, taking in his own headstone with surprising calm. When he looked to the side at the other two, Madara noticed his face fell.

"Nyanko-Sensei, you brought me back. Why are the Fujiwaras..."

"Many years have passed since that day in the woods. I inquired about them from many travelling youkai, and I have heard they lived happily up until their deaths."

Tears began to fall out of Natsume's eyes as he looked at the gravestones. He realized that he would never be able to enjoy a peaceful dinner with the two people who were closest to his parents than anyone else again. 

He sat there for half an hour, hugging onto Nyanko-Sensei's fur, trying to calm himself down.

"How am I back? I thought for sure that was it."

"I separated your soul from your body. It is nothing short of a miracle that you are back. However, I must warn you, things are different."

"Well, of course, its been year-"

"Not in that way. I mean _you _are different. No human is supposed to live as just a soul for that many years, and several times I injected my own spiritual power into you to keep you alive. I suspect that although you are not completely a youkai, you will have our lifespan."

"You're saying I'm immortal?"

"Not immortal, no. None of us are immortal. However, you will live for much longer than you were intended."

Natsume was conflicted. If it were up to him, honestly, he didn't think he would want to outlive his human friends. But now that he had become attached to so many youkai, and not to mention Nyanko-Sensei. In the middle of this storm of doubt, one thought came through;

"What about Tanuma and Taki, all of my human friends?"

Madara nodded.

"They are all alive, and have families now."

"They have families? Wow. How long has it been?"

"35 years."

Natsume paused for a moment, then stood up. 

"I can think about all of these things later. What I should do now is let them know that I'm not dead."

Then he looked up at the sky and frowned. 

"What time do you think it is?"

"I don't pay attention to how humans measure the time."

"So like, 3:00 in the morning?"

"Hmph."

"I wouldn't want to bother them... I bet they're all asleep." He looked back at the cold, unfriendly ground. "Maybe I should just sleep here tonight."

Madara paused for a moment at what Natsume had just said, then huffed a sigh.

"Idiot."

With that, Madara curled up around Natsume and enjoyed a deep, peaceful sleep, feeling contented for the first time in decades.

* * *

Natsume woke up, to a girl about his age waving a hand in front of his face.

When his eyes fluttered open, she jumped back, surprised.

"Oh my god I thought you were dead. That's a relief!"

When he didn't respond, she continued, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"What's someone like you- why are you sleeping here?"

Natsume sat upright, realizing that he had been sleeping on his own headstone with Madara curled around him.

"Oh, uhh... I live around here."

The girl laughed.

"And that explains why you're sleeping on a grave?"

He hurriedly jumped off, waking up Madara.

"It's a long story. Anyways, thank you for waking me up! Have a nice day."

Natsume tried to walk the opposite direction, but she jogged over and caught his arm.

"Wait! I'm sorry. I tend to talk before I think. My name is Nishinmura Satomi, what's yours?"

"Nishimura?!"

"Yes?"

Her face was tinged in a bright pink now, realizing how forward she was being. And with a boy no less, a super cute one at that! She decided to stop pressing.

"Look, I'm sorry... I-"

"Would it be possible for me to come home with you?"

Her face went three shades deeper, and against all of her better judgement, she nodded.

"Sure, just let me do what I came here for."

Satomi knelt down and lit a stick of incense at Natsume's grave. She sat there for a moment, then stood up brusquely. Noticing Natsume's questioning look, she explained.

"My parents were friends with him, but I never knew him. We all came here yesterday like we do every year but I forgot to light some and I felt bad about it, so."

Natsume nodded wordlessly. Her _parents _had been friends with him. That meant that her mom had to be someone he knew, too. He made a mental note to try to ask casually, because his last questions hadn't been very subtle.

Out of the corner of his eye, Natsume noticed a familiar cloud of smoke form around Madara, who had been watching this exchange with bemusement. Out emerged a circular cat that looked more like a stuffed toy than an animal. 

For Madara, he hadn't used his smaller form since that day in the woods, so his transformation was almost nostalgic. He circled around to the back of the grave and jumped up onto Natsume's shoulder, much to the surprise of the girl.

"There you are, Nyanko-Sensei!"

An odd flash of recognition crossed over her face.

"Did you say Nyanko-Sensei?"

Natsume smiled.

"He's an ugly cat, I know."

Satomi could've sworn the cat just scowled at him. She knew she recognized the name though, she just was having difficulty placing it.

They began their descent down the hill and out of the cemetery. It was a short walk, and about halfway the odd boy stopped and began looking at the temple where the Tanumas lived.

"Who lives here now?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of the domineering entryway.

"Oh, our family friends the Tanumas. We actually went to visit the grave yesterday with them."

An odd expression crossed his face.

"Can you tell me about them?"

Trying to not get creeped out, Satomi responded.

"Uhh.. there's the father, Kaname, the mother, Jun, and their daughter, Hana."

"Do you know their mother's maiden name?"

Satomi was failing at trying not to get creeped out.

"Why, are you trying to hack their email or something?"

He turned and looked at her with a blank expression.

"Email?"

"..."

Satomi was seriously wondering why she was taking him back to her house. Without responding, she turned and kept walking down the street, pretending like she didn't hear his last question. 

Realizing he had said something weird, Natsume reminded himself how long had passed and began walking alongside her in silence. It was only a few minutes before they finally got to her house.

Natsume instantly recognized it as Taki's place, and wondered to himself if that was who Satomi's mother was. He didn't mention it, though, after her response to his last question.

Satomi looked back at Natsume, rethinking for the last time if she was going to let a complete stranger inside (with a cat thing, no less.) One look at his face though, and she was sold. Satomi had long since realized that she was letting a complete stranger come over just because he was good-looking. She thought about how easy she would be to murder.

"Come in."

They walked into the gate, and together they walked inside.

"I'm sorry, do you mind waiting here for a moment while I make sure my mom is okay with having a guest right now?"

"Sure, no problem."

Not taking the time to ponder over how creepy that last sentence was, Satomi walked calmly until she turned the corner, but then began to run. She skidded into the family room, where her parents and younger brother were sitting and watching the news.

"Oh Satomi, you're back."

"How was the park?"

"Mom, dad, I met someone at the cemetery and I invited him over because he seemed a bit confused. He's in the entry hall now. What do I do?"

"Cemetery? Why were you at the Cemetery?"

"Is it a boyyyyyyyyyyy? Ooooooo!"

"Would you be quiet, Kuzuki? I realized I forgot to light incense yesterday and I didn't want to be impolite, so I went back and then I met him."

"So it _is _a boy."

"Satoru, I'm sure that didn't make a difference to her. Satomi, why don't you bring him in here and I can make some tea for us, hmm?"

"Thanks mom. I'll be right back."

Satomi broke into a run, skittering down the hallways until she finally reached the entryway, where Natsume was waiting.

"Come with me."

He smiled politely, and followed behind her as she walked, composed, back to the room where her family had turned off the tv and was preparing for a guest.

Nishimura had picked up a newspaper and was trying to look well-read when Natsume walked into the room.

He put it down with a flourish and stood up, and then stood there, staring.

At first no reaction registered on his face.

Then Nastume gave him a small wave, and his mouth started pulling in several directions. First, the flash of a smile, then complete confusion, then total, utter confusion.

"Natsume...?"

Natsume nodded.

"Hi, Nishimura."

This time, a smile won out and Satoru flung himself across the room, almost tackling his small friend.

"But you're dead! I mean, you are dead. In the ground. How?"

Natsume looked a little sheepish. He had never told Nishimura, even up until the end.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you in a little."

Disregarding the explanation, Nishimura wrapped him up in yet another hug.

At that moment, Taki came in from the kitchen. At first, she was a bit confused seeing her husband constricting a teenaged boy, but then she noticed the oddly-proportioned cat on his shoulder.

"Nyanko-Sensei?!"

Satomi had been standing aside, confused at her father's reaction, and her ears pricked up when she finally placed the name.

"He's the one from your stories, mom! Or at least the cat is."

But Tooru didn't hear what her daughter said, because at that moment Satoru finally released Natsume.

"Ah, so you do still live here, Taki."

The tea cups she had been holding in her hands fell to the ground with a crash. She felt hot tears begin to pool out of her eyes as she walked towards him, and finally wrapped him in another hug.

"Natsume. I'm so glad you're okay."

A small laugh escaped her.

"Also, my name is Nishimura now."

Wiping her eyes, she smiled brightly at him.

"Let's sit down and talk over some tea, okay?"

He smiled back at the both of them, glad to see his friends doing well.

"Actually, can I do something first? I have to go see Tanuma."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Leave thoughts in the comments


End file.
